More Southland Plane Victims

Their identities now emerging into public view, here are more of the people who were on the California-bound airliners hijacked Tuesday.

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FLIGHT 93

United Airlines Flight 93 took off from Newark, N.J., headed for San Francisco and crashed in western Pennsylvania.

Nicole Miller

Nicole Miller, 21, a sophomore on the dean’s list at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., was working her way through school as a waitress. She had been mulling over some decisions: whether to major in business or communications, whether to transfer to Chico State or San Jose State universities.

An outdoor and exercise enthusiast, Miller had played softball at Pioneer High School in San Jose. Later she taught body-sculpting classes for workers at IBM.

“She was beautiful, like model beautiful,” said her sister Tiffney, 23. “She had this reddish-brown hair and warm eyes and this beautiful smile and dimples.” The sisters were almost inseparable, working at the same place, attending the same school. “We were always looking out for each other.”

The daughter of a retired Xerox field engineer and a dental secretary, who had divorced and remarried, Miller had a large blended family, her sister said, which included a stepmother, a stepfather, four brothers and two sisters.

Miller’s boyfriend, Ryan Brown, was her high school sweetheart. She had flown to New York last week to join him on his visit with relatives after he had called and said he missed her. When it was time to fly home, Miller tried to get a ticket on her boyfriend’s return flight but couldn’t. His flight ended up being rerouted to Canada.

At the gate to Flight 93, they kissed goodbye.

Andrew Garcia

Andrew Garcia Sr., 62, a businessman from Portola Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, had reveled in the joy of getting to know his first grandchild, the 8-month-old daughter of his son, Andrew Jr.

Garcia’s second grandchild is expected this week. His daughter, Audrey Olive, is due to deliver a baby boy.

“He was probably the best husband and father you could ever imagine,” said his son. “He’s not only my dad but my best friend.”

An industrial products salesman, Garcia established his own company in the same line of work 11 years ago and traveled frequently on business to the East Coast.

He was flying home Tuesday morning after Monday meetings in New Jersey.

“People who know him talk about his values,” said his son. “The first thing he would ask you when he saw you was, ‘How are you?’ and he meant that genuinely.”

Garcia, who was born in Sunnyvale, Calif., is also survived by his wife, Dorothy, and another daughter, Kelly.

Jason Dahl

As a teen growing up in San Jose, United Airlines Capt. Jason Dahl, 43, learned to fly before he could drive.

Dahl was at the helm of Flight 93, on which passengers were believed to have confronted the terrorists.

“He was a consummate pilot,” said brother-in-law Bill Heiderich. “His responsibility for his flight started when he left his home. He was all business.”

Dahl attended San Jose State University on a scholarship provided by a local flying legend, Amelia Reid. Just five years after graduation, he was hired by United. Soon he was training other pilots.

He had moved to Littleton, Colo., where he lived with his wife, Sandy, son Matthew, 15, and daughter, Jennifer, who is in her 20s.

He is also survived by two sisters, Carol Heiderich of Hollister and Joan Raymundo of San Jose, and a brother, Lowell, in Texas.

For 30 years, a flag flew in front of the Dahl home in memory of Jason Dahl’s brother Kenneth, who was killed at age 20 in Vietnam in 1971. Now a crisp new flag--given to Mildred Dahl by neighbor DiSalvo’s son--flies there at half-staff in honor of Jason Dahl.

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FLIGHT 11

American Airlines Flight 11, en route from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

Thomas Pecorelli

Thomas Pecorelli, 30, a cameraman for Fox Sports Net and E! Entertainment Television, was expecting his first child with his wife, Kia Pavloff.

He carried with him the ultrasound picture of the fetus. “He kept it in his wallet like his baby picture,” said David Kister, another Fox Sports Net cameraman. “He was so overjoyed.”

Pecorelli had attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and become a passionate fan of the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots. He had gone to Boston to attend a friend’s wedding and to visit his ailing father.

“He was one of the nicest people you could meet,” said Cynthia Zoller Malone, studio director at E!.

At the end of this week’s always irreverent “Talk Soup,” the cable channel will include a tribute to Pecorelli.

Andrew Curry Green

Andrew Curry Green, 34, moved to the Los Angeles area about six months ago to become director of business development for eLogic, a Venice-based Internet company, according to Jeff Greisch, one of Green’s colleagues.

“Andrew was a very hard-working, capable young man,” Greisch said.

Green and Jeff Mladenik, 43, eLogic’s temporary CEO, were flying back to Los Angeles after a business trip to Boston.

Mladenik, a husband and father of four, lived in Hinsdale, Ill., but made frequent trips to Los Angeles.

“It’s a devastating loss,” Greisch said. “A tragic, tragic event.”

Green is survived by his wife, Shannon.

Barbara Keating

Palm Springs resident Barbara Keating, 72, a widowed grandmother and mother of five grown children, was an active member of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church.

For eight years, Keating had worked with the Altar Society--the “ladies’ guild”--and assisted the nonprofit Catholic Charities group, according to Linda Sardone, the church’s office manager.

“About six months ago, she became a volunteer in the parish office,” Sardone said. “Every morning, without fail, she would be there helping out.”

Keating was returning home after a vacation in Cape Cod and a visit with family on the New Jersey shore.

Tuesday night, about 300 parishioners at St. Theresa’s met and prayed for Keating and the other victims of the day’s violence.

“She was a kind, gentle lady. . . . She always had a smile on her face,” Sardone said. “Very religious. Not only did she go to church, but she lived her faith.

“There are not many people like that left in the world.”

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FLIGHT 77

American Airlines Flight 77 was en route to Los Angeles from Washington’s Dulles Airport when it crashed into the Pentagon.

Charles ‘Chick’ Burlingame III

Charles “Chick” Burlingame III, 51, the captain of Flight 77, was a veteran pilot and former Navy officer.

A graduate of Anaheim High School, he went on to the Naval Academy and flew for the Navy.

He lived in Virginia and once worked in the Pentagon.

But he retained a fondness for the home teams, the Angels and Lakers. Indeed, he’d hoped that his wife, Sheri, would accompany him to Los Angeles so they could attend a baseball game, but he couldn’t get seats that were worth the trouble.

He wanted to watch the Angels while celebrating his 52nd birthday, which was Wednesday.

Danger was a constant, if highly unlikely, part of the job, said his sister, Debra Burlingame.

“He was aware that when he went to work there was always a possibility of some kind of catastrophe, but it was very, very remote,” she said. “I don’t think he thought about hijacking.”

He is also survived by a daughter. Burial is planned at Arlington National Cemetery, where Burlingame’s father, a Navy and Air Force veteran, is buried.